It is not quite the same as quake or other first-person shoot-em-ups. It does not rely on you to press your fire button as fast as possible or to have an ultra fast connection to the internet to be able to win. It does requre you to make decisions on fight or flight with some immediacy though. This game may only be played on-line, and they have taken steps to insure that hackers cannot cheat or otherwise ruin this game. (Like so many other on-line games have been ruined)
When you begin the game you first pick a server you will play on. Currently there are around 20 servers. Your character will only exist on one server, and can only interact with players on that server. You must choose from 12 races (elf, human, barbarian, troll, ogre, to name) and 14 classes (warrior, ranger, wizard, magician, paladin, etc), and also pick a face and name for your character. Not all races can be all classes. When you start out, you will barely know which end of a sword to hold, and almost anything can kill you. The more you play, the better you get at your various abilities (offense one-handed slashing, spellcasting, etc). Not all classes can cast spells, use swords, or wear armor. Follow the link to Everquest Stratics for detailed info on classes, races, and abilities.
Once you have your character created, you must make a choice: Will you kill other players (called PvP) or not. If you choose to do so, your name will always appear in red. You will only be able to kill other PvP players though, and if you are hurt, only another PvP player will be able to heal you. Regular (non PvP) players cannot be hurt by you. The only exception to this rule is a Duel. Any player may challenge any other player to a Duel. If the other player accepts, you can then hurt each other.
If you die in the game, you come back without any of your items in the spot where you were originally "born". You must then travel to the place where you died, and loot your own corpse to recover your items. The world of Everquest is BIG! It can take you 3 hours to get across the main continent. If you died on the opposite side of the continent from where you are born, you could be in big trouble. There is a spell called "bind" that will change where you come back to though. There is also another spell called "Resurrect" that will bring you back where you died. So all is not always lost.
Once you start playing this game, beware! You can become seriously addicted to it! (Hi, my name is Aaron, and I'm a EQholic.)Back to main page